POTTSTOWN, PA — Although borough council wasted little time in filling the tax collector vacancy Wednesday night, there are still a few vacant positions up for grabs.

As part of the annual process of filling posts on boards and commissions, council will vote Monday on filling nine open spots, with a 10th vacancy being filled in February.

One seat on the Pottstown Borough Authority is open and two people have applied to fill it. It is currently filled by plumber Aram Ecker, who is seeking a second five-year term. However, newly elected Borough Councilwoman Sheryl Miller has also asked to be appointed.

With Miller’s defeat of Jeff Chomnuk for the third ward seat on council, the authority board currently has no member of borough council, a role Chomnuk had filled.

Dayon Mohler, 18, Najee Johnson, 18, and Derrick Wilson, 17, were charged with multiple counts of felony aggravated assault and a series of misdemeanor charges including simple assault, possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment, and other related charges after they allegedly used a BB gun to shoot two teammates on Oct. 24.

According to police, the victims did not suffer serious injuries.

The trio drove around Evans and East streets after school dismissed around noon, police said. The two victims told police they were playing catch when they saw Mohler’s silver Toyota Corolla drive past and fire the BB gun. One victim was hit in the head, police said.

POTTSTOWN, PA — With planes taking off every few minutes, excited children couldn’t stop pointing and calling to their parents as they stood on the tarmac at Pottstown Municipal Airport’s Community Day.

“They’re both plane fanatics,” said Rob Moyzan of his children, who traveled from Jim Thorpe for the annual event.

Moyzan’s son and daughter stood near the gates separating spectators from the runway where varied models of propeller planes taxied by.

Further up the runway, Chris Moyer’s grandson, Hayden, swiveled his head from his position atop his grandfather’s shoulder. He patted his grandfather’s arm every time a plane came roaring by on take-off, shouting, “Look!”

POTTSTOWN, PA — The Pottstown School Board voted unanimously Monday night to reinstate a suspended middle school teacher in the wake of last week’s announcement that the sexual abuse charges against him had been dropped.

In June, township police charged Jared Leimeister, 33, of North Coventry, with inappropriate contact with an 8-year-old girl, who spent time with Leimeister between October 2012 and February 2013.

Leimeister, an eighth grade science teacher at Pottstown Middle school, had been charged with endangering the welfare of a child, corruption of minors and indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old.

On Aug. 19, the school board suspended Leimeister without pay until the matter was resolved.

Jared Leimeister, 33, of North Coventry,had been charged with multiple felony counts of aggravated assault involving a child. According to the police report, he was accused of inappropriate contact with an 8-year-old girl, who spent time with Leimeister between October 2012 and February 2013.

Leimeister had also previously been charged with endangering the welfare of a child, corruption of minors and indecent assault of a person less than 13-years-old.

He was accused of making the victim sleep in his bed or in a cardboard box when she misbehaved while she was at his apartment in the 800 block of East Schuylkill Road, police said.

POTTSTOWN — More than a month after a Pottstown Middle School teacher was charged with aggravated assault of a child, the school district confirmed he will not be returning for the start of the new school year.

“Jared Leimeister has been suspended and will not be in the classroom for the 2013-14 school year,” said John Armato, the community relations director for the Pottstown School District.

Leimeister was the eighth-grade science teacher. The school district’s website says “TBA” next to the open position.

The second annual Fundraising Dinner to benefit the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities will be held October 4, 2013 at the Berean Bible Church on High Street in Sanatoga. Tickets are $40 each, which includes a delicious dinner plus an entire evening of entertainment!

The night promises to be exciting, with an encore performance by Maggie Riker – who has performed in operas, musicals, concerts, and cabarets across the United States and Europe – this time being joined by her equally talented brother, Dave Heffner. Also returning to the stage is 12-year old Madison Kershner, a student from St. Aloysius School. The evening’s entertainment is rounded out with performances by The Sounds of Sunnybrook Dance Band and Chorale 33.

To keep the night running smoothly, John Armato, Director of Community Relations for the Pottstown School District, will once again emcee the program. Catering for this special event will be provided by Pottstown favorite, Bause Catered Events.

Last year’s inaugural event raised over $20,000 in support of the PCRC’s programs and services; this year the committee has their sights set on raising over $25,000!

Corporate sponsorship opportunities and seating for the dinner are limited, and are selling quickly! For more information, or to purchase your tickets today, please visit www.pottstowncluster.org, or call (610) 970-5995.

The “Wish Upon a Star” Fundraising Dinner is the not-to-be-missed event of the year!

Editor’s note: This is a bad week for role models with a local police officer charged with retail theft and a teacher charged with molesting a child. Very upsetting!

(Updated 3:15 p.m.) NORTH COVENTRY — A Pottstown Middle School teacher has been charged with multiple felony counts of aggravated indecent assault involving a child.

Jared P. Leimeister, of North Coventry, posted bail and was released from the Chester County Prison on Monday.

The 33-year-old teacher was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child, corruption of minors and indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old after police spoke with an 8-year-old girl who spent time with Leimeister between October 2012 and February 2013.

Leimeister is listed as an eighth-grade science teacher, according to the school district’s website.

Editor’s note: Two Roy’s Rants thumbs up to Acting Superintendent Jeff Sparagana for being proactive!

POTTSTOWN — When it comes to getting along, it could be said that the borough and school district governments in Pottstown sometimes get along like siblings on a long car trip.

Acting Schools Superintendent Jeff Sparagana is among the first to admit that and did so Wednesday when he told borough council that “it is important to acknowledge and recognize there have been breakdowns in the relationship between the borough and the school district in the past.”

But he was also the first to offer an olive branch in pursuit of a new era of cooperation.

Appearing before council during the Wednesday work session, Sparagana prefaced a presentation of the district’s land development plans for Rupert, Franklin and Lincoln elementary schools with a statement — and an apology.

There are other ways to measure educational success and in several of them, Pottstown High School comes out on top, particularly when looking at the Career and Technology Program.

By several measures, these students, who study technical skills to prepare them for the workforce upon graduation, are succeeding in ways the Pennsylvania Legislature does not seem to consider as important.

This past year 100 percent of the school’s career and technical students graduated, compared to the 87 percent graduation rate for the general education students the same year.

POTTSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A suburban Philadelphia middle school’s ban on a popular type of fur-lined boots isn’t about fashion, it’s about cellphones.

Pottstown Middle School parents were informed of the new ban on the unlaced boots on Wednesday.

District community relations director John Armato said students are using the boots to hide cellphones and bring them into class. Current school policy allows students to bring their phones to school but requires them to be kept in their locker during the day.